A church youth group meeting comes to a horrifying halt when men bust in blind and bound the children and throw them into a van. But it was all staged by church leaders.

While at least one child was injured and traumatized, those leaders say they stand behind their "lesson."

Church leaders say this was a learning exercise designed to teach about religious freedom. But one girl was so shaken up that her parents have now gone to police.

A seventh grader is still traumatized, emotionally and physically, by a church youth group meeting Wednesday night at Glad Tidings Assembly of God in Lower Swatara Township.

She had no idea what she was in for as she quickly went from enjoying herself to fearing for her life. Masked men stormed into their meeting and demanded the group of about a dozen kids get on the ground.

Then, while still bound and blinded, the kids were forced outside and into a van. It drove for a bit and then the kids ended up in the basement of a home on church property.

She says the pastor came out bloody, but Pastor John Lanes wasn't a victim, in fact he was a leader in what turned out to be a staged abduction to teach children about religious persecution.

Youth group leader Andrew Jordan says the exercise was never meant to horrify.

Pastor Lanza says moving forward they will notify parents first. but he won't stop doing it. He says the lesson is too important.

But for this seventh grader, that lesson left her bruised and with a different view of the church, saying she doesn’t trust them.

Police will only say they are aware of the incident and are investigating. We should point out the church says other children knew this was staged and say they did find the exercise beneficial.

WTF is wrong with you people?! Crazy motherfuckers the lot of you. Those kids were on your side. Desperation plain and simple. Now you've fucked up, and I'm glad. It's like a biological weapon that infected some of them with a slowly-progressing disease called reason.

"A church youth group meeting comes to a horrifying halt when men bust in blind and bound the children and throw them into a van. But it was all staged by church leaders."

And there's me thinking that 'Anonymous' were the only ones who 'staged' pranks like this 'For Teh Lulz'; presumably these men were wearing 'V For Vendetta' masks...?

...I seem to remember a certain '9th Commandment': 'Thou shalt not bear false witness' and all that jazz. Where that comes from seems to escape me...!

Can you refresh my memory, GTAG?

--EDIT--

@Swede

"What the hell was supposed to be learned by this, by deliberately traumatize children?"

Well, this lot have certainly never heard of - least of all seen - the documentary film "Jesus Camp". Seems that psychological torture of kids comes naturally to fundie adults; Becky Fischer, and all that jazz.

What the hell was supposed to be learned by this, by deliberately traumatizing children? Did you want them to turn from religion, or what?
I have claustrophobia, and I'm not the only one in the world. I would never, ever go back to a place where I had been kidnapped, bound and blindfolded.

"staged abduction to teach children about religious persecution."
Read: Fearmongerling. Business as usual. In a country where religion faces NO persecution they create a scenario designed to instill fear of the secular world. Idiots that they are they couldn't even see the logical mental outcome the kids would most likely come to:
"with a different view of the church, saying she doesn’t trust them."

So now it's weeks of brainwashing these kids into believing something like this WILL happen, oh woe is us the poor church folk facing such persecution.

Nope , Kids right, play along until you're old enough to leave but never, ever trust them again.

"the church says other children knew this was staged and say they did find the exercise beneficial."

As the "church says". Ok.
Some parents should get together, grab the pastor, Throw a bag over his head, rough him up a bit and make him fear for his life for awhile. I'm sure the Pastor will see that as a beneficial lesson. After all, he at least deserves it.

If this was meant to teach the kids about freedom and why we should fight for it, then that's one thing, though I think they should have used high schoolers rather than middle schoolers in that case. If, on the other hand, this is merely propaganda to make the kids think that OMG CHRISTIANS ARE BEING PERSECUTED IN MODERN AMERICA!!! then this is despicably dishonest propaganda. And it still traumatized some children.

This lesson would have been more beneficial if the pastor said they aren't allowed to eat because it's against his religion. Or maybe if we kidnapped the pastor and told him it's his own fault for not following the true religion of Jesus Christ.

@Brendan Rizzo:
High school kidnapees have too much ability to violently resist being kidnapped ie too much danger to life and limb of fundie indoctrinators.

Pastors are always going on about how persecuted they are and how their religious freedom is being taken away. But then their flock notice that, actually, they're still in the vast majority, they can still go to church whenever they like and say whatever they like, they can practise their beliefs wherever they like and they've got plenty of people high up in the legislature protecting their beliefs in Congress.

So they've got to resort to extremist scare tactics to convince everyone that persecution is just around the corner. Not a lot of difference between this and all the nuclear drills they made kids do in the 50s. Curling up under your desk won't actually protect you from a nuclear blast, but it sure puts the fear of God into you.

These assholes need to be arrested. Taking people against their will is KIDNAPPING. There's probably other charges they are guilty of as well, like unlawful detention and child endangerment. Their intentions or meaning behind these acts is irrelevant. I can't rob a store and then not be responsible just because I say I'm teaching the employees a lesson about what it's like.

You know, Pastor Lanza, in the past Christians were persecuted for their beliefs. Today, they still are in some areas of the world. The United States of America, a country whose residents are overwhelmingly Christian, is not one of those areas. Dumbass. How about next time you teach the kids a lesson in self defense? That way they can kick the shit out of you and your posse the next time your fingers are itching to kidnap children.

"Youth group leader Andrew Jordan says the exercise was never meant to horrify."

Of course not, that's why the Pastor appeared bloodied and the kids were tied, blinded (blindfolded I'm assuming,) forced into a van and taken to an unknown location. All 7th graders should be just fine with that.

"... the church says other children knew this was staged and say they did find the exercise beneficial."

Of course the Church says that... regardless of the facts.

Also, this "lesson" seems designed to teach kids to fear outsiders. It makes them experience something that I don't think has ever happened for religious reasons in the U.S. Why not rape them all to teach them that the nasty police-state atheists will do that to them too.

An important lesson? About teaching kids to be hyperbolic, paranoid, "persecuted" idiots? If only *one* kid's parents went to the police, that's insane. Even if it was the fakest staged kidnapping in the world, how could they think it was okay to do this? And also not even talk to the parents about it?

I'll be surprised if anyone get's arrested, though.... They always get away with stuff if it's done in "the name of gawd."

I must admit, that it actually does all sound pretty biblical to me. Surely this is standard Christian practice, what with the kidnapping, binding and blinding and general abusive behaviour, all for the purpose of encouraging deep spirituality in the students.

However, I still prefer our atheist methods of education as prescribed by Lord Athe.